A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Today many people will gather together and celebrate a holiday.  They’ll gather with family and friends and enjoy a day off from work and perhaps see some amazing fireworks.  We’re celebrating our Independence Day.  Some may even stop to think that we’re celebrating our freedom to be who we want to be, to worship as we please, to have a say in our own government.   Lately, I’ve watched the people of this great country become afraid, to forget that we’re all immigrants, if you go back a couple of hundred years.  We’ve always fought for freedom for ourselves and for other oppressed people — maybe we need to rethink what we’re doing and where we’re going now.  Do we continue on the road we’re on, or rededicate ourselves to the premises on which our country was founded?

I wanted to put up a video to help celebrate the day but it was difficult to find “America the Beautiful” that focused on the many beauties of this great land.  But I finally managed to find one.  Enjoy.

NOTE of Warning: This post is a political rant because sometimes I just have to speak up. If you don’t care for political rants…fine…move along and come back another day when I may have more on my garden, my knitting, book reviews, or other lighter less-ranty posts.

Every now and then  it seems that comedy becomes actuality.  Years ago Cheech and Chong had a song called Born in East LA which chronicles the problems that a man born in East L.A. had to proving his citizenship when scooped up in an illegal immigrant sweep.  At the time, even though it highlighted a problem that existed among the Hispanic population, it also highlighted the extremely  unAmerican  concept of having to show papers whenever you were asked by an authority figure.  This was something that only was supposed to happen in Communist countries.

Now the state of Arizona has passed SB 1070 into law.  It’s been signed by Gov. Jan Brewer.  In its bare essence the state of Arizona has made it legal to do racial profiling within the state.  The bill requires local law enforcement to question anyone they reasonably  suspect  of being undocumented.  (Translation: you could be pulled over for no other reason than that you are brown-skinned or speak Spanish.) The bill makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper paperwork in Arizona.   And just how does an American citizen prove that they’re not an illegal alien?   If you’re an American, you won’t have a green card, or visa, or anything else.  And since you can’t prove that you’re in the country legally, you must be an illegal alien. Q.E.D.  Hopefully somebody other than me sees the logical fallacy in having to prove a negative.

What the this means is that everyone who might be possibly be “reasonably suspected” of being an illegal alien must show papers to any  authority that asks.  So, if you have dark hair and dark eyes and a non-milky complexion, you’d better make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork to prove you’re a citizen on you at all time.  Don’t forget that includes children — after all, illegal aliens come in all ages.

So somehow, while we weren’t paying attention, the state of Arizona managed to become the first state in the nation that requires all citizens to show papers when requested by an authority figure, or face the consequences.  Of course that’s only for some people — not the lily white ones.

In case you’re wondering, I’m a mix of French, Scottish, and who knows what — but I do have dark hair (except for the grey), and dark brown eyes, and have often been mistaken for Hispanic even though I only know enough Spanish to count to ten on a good day with a few phrases learned from years of Sesame Street long, long ago when my son was younger.

I’m outraged by this.  I used to live in America.  The home of the brave.  The land of the free.  Where Democracy reigned and it was not only our right, but our obligation, to question authority and to stand up for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Over the last 20 years or so, I’ve watched America slowly become a bully nation that picks on those who can’t defend themselves.  A nation that punishes those who come here believing that the motto on that statue in New York Harbor is real  and for those who have forgotten it:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
The wretched refuse of you teamming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Poem on plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty written by Emma Lazarus.

I guess those words should now be changed to only come here if you’ve got lots of money to spend, paperwork to prove you’re worth letting into our country, and will only say good things about us while you’re here.

I’ve seldom been so ashamed of my country as I am after hearing about this travesty. I hope when the legal battles come, and I’m sure they will, that the courts will rule this law unconstitutional because there isn’t a doubt in my mind (having read this document) that it is just that — not to mention Arizona’s SB 1070 is frankly unAmerican and shameful.

There are, I am sure better ways to deal with illegal aliens that to force your citizens to carry papers — unless of course you think the comparison with the old-time Communist countries is appropriate. In fact, I don’t think they even require papers at every stop within their borders anymore.

[Hyperion here:]  The problems surrounding illegal immigration are real and severe.  There are no doubts that something needs to be done to counteract the unfortunate evils that accompany it.  That said, the number of illegal immigrants that cause problems are a tiny percentage of the those that are here.  Like the general population of the U.S., the vast majority are hard working people trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.  They work the crap jobs that no American wants, for pay no American would accept.  If we magically found and deported every illegal alien in America today, large portions of our economy would collapse into ruin within a week.  So while I agree that we have to do something about the troublemakers, I have to wonder why so many Americans are willing to throw the founding principles of this country out the window just to make things seem simple.  Have we really learned nothing from the Japanese Interment Camps or the House UnAmerican Activities witch hunts?  Every time we’ve pulled this kind of crap, the future has lo0ked back on those that participated in them with horror and disgust.  And they sit around and wonder just how could people have been so clueless and horrible.   So two quotes to close by, the first generally accredited to Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”  And the second to George Santayana: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

When I saw this article on BoingBoing, I could not believe it.

Evidently, the laptops that students received from the school also contain software that allows school administrators to spy on them and their families. There is now a class action suit against the district because:

The issue came to light when the Robbins’s child was disciplined for “improper behavior in his home” and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence. The suit is a class action, brought on behalf of all students issued with these machines.

I find this creepy in the extreme. What is it with people who believe that they have the right to spy on others anytime they want. This is an invasion of privacy at the least, and child pornography on the part of school officials at the worst — since I’d imagine many of the students have the laptops in their rooms.

What’s even less appealing is that the school said:

The school district admits that student laptops were shipped with software for covertly activating their webcams, but denies wrongdoing.

NOTE: There are links in the BoingBoing article to the filings and letters and other documentation.

I’m just stunned that not only did some at the school spy on the students but that they don’t see anything wrong with this. There is no excuse for spy on the students at home. Even if there was a reason to do so, the school does not have the right to do so, since the parents are responsible for their children.

How can you expect to raise and educate children and young adults if you don’t even understand the basic principles of privacy, fairness, and respect. The school district is in the wrong and there’s no excuse for their actions and every adult involved needs some lesson in how to conduct themselves in society.

When Al Gore wrote Inconvenient Truth about the dangers of global warning, he couldn’t have found a name for his book that could be any more indicative of many people’s reactions to global warming, its possible causes and potential results.

Today, I came across an article in the guardian.co.uk entitled, “Utah delivers vote of no confidence for ‘climate alarmists’“. I figured it was just another bit of ranting about how could global warming exist if it snowed and we had winter. These types of stories happen a lot in the US as many people can not or rather will not grasp the concept of “global” in the phrase “global warming”.

Nope. I was wrong. The state of Utah has proved to the world that the United States has, in positions of power, some of the most scientifically uneducated buffoons on the face of the Earth. Note that the vote on this bill was 56 to 17 — only 17 people could see that this was a bad piece of legislation. Utah Legislature HJR012 says in its General Description:

This joint resolution of the Legislature urges the United States Environmental Protection Agency to cease its carbon dioxide reduction policies, programs, and regulations until climate data and global warming science are substantiated.

Obviously, members of the Utah legislature need a refresher course in General Science 101. They also need to pay attention to what has been coming out of the Climate Change Summits over the last several years. They may also need to watch Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth DVD a few times. No matter what government legislates or believes, facts are facts. Our weather is changing. We can work to mitigate those changes but denying the existence of the facts isn’t going to make them go away.

The scientific community is not in doubt about the need to reduce carbon dioxide emission or that global warming is taking place or that human activity is a part of the equation causing global warming. Utah believes that since they want it not to be true they can simply demand that all the data has to be done again and again and again until they get the results they want. Because at heart, that’s what they’re really trying to do.

It might also be noted that Utah is a solid Republican state. That’s important because the Republican party has been the party of wishful thinking for quite a few years. If they don’t like a fact they try to make out like it isn’t a fact. If they don’t like a law that is passed they try to repeal it. If that doesn’t work they try to make it impossible to enforce or use that law. If they don’t like something, they consistently try to denigrate it, besmirch it, or make fun of it. One thing they never ever do is try to come up with a better way of doing things or helping the country or its citizens achieve their potential.

Unfortunately, passing frivolous legislation and showing a total lack of understanding of scientific data to the world is not going to make global warming go away. Passing legislation that denies the existence of gravity and calling it a passing fancy of Newton will not cause you to float if you should trip over an apple peel. Facts are what they are and denying them and asking for more and more proof of their existence when most countries of the world have already determined the facts to be only arguable in degree not in actuality, only shows that here in American we have discovered a way to live on denial to the detriment of our economy and our country.

I cringe to think what this effort on the part of Utah to maintain its place as a oil and coal producing state in the face of such inconvenient truths will do to the standing of the United States on the world stage whenever science and facts are being discussed. It’s fairly obvious that wishful thinking rather than scientific inquiry rules in at least one state of the union.

This is going to be something of a unfocused political rant. Just decided to get some things out there for people (mainly me) to think about:

• What makes Congress think that delaying the coverage of pre-existing conditions for 4 years and requiring people who can’t afford insurance to buy it or be punished with fines is a good idea? Here’s the scenario — I’ve got medical problems but no insurance and I have to pay out of pocket for everything. Now the government forces me to spend my money to pay for medical insurance, thus using up what little money I had to cover office visits and RXs and the insurance doesn’t pay for anything because all the medical problems are pre-existing. Wow, that’s really helpful because what money I did have is now gone. The insurance won’t cover the medical problems and now I have no money to pay out of pocket. Thank you Congress?
• Do the members of the Supreme Court know that they are there to defend and support the Constitution? Have they even read it? Do they know the term “precedent”? Because they just threw out years of precedence and will now allow big business to pour money into Congressional campaign coffers — and some how that supposed to help the “little guys” support their candidate? In what universe does that happen? In this one, big business gives big money and expects big favors or you don’t get money the next time you run for office.
• Avatar is a movie. People smoke now knowing that it’s bad for them. They’ll probably smoke in the future too (have you seen those non-cigarette cigarettes — yuck). The Nav’i live in harmony with their planet and that’s not a bad thing — we should be as concerned for Earth. Oh, and the complaint that corporations would never use force on the native population to better their bottom line. Well, guess some people haven’t been paying attention to what goes on now-a-days in our “real” world.
• Why don’t the Democrats stand up and tell the Republican’s to stuff their lies and innuendos? For years, the Democrats have been allowing the Republicans to define them. There is NOTHING wrong with being Liberal — in fact, if you look up the definition of a Liberal it is something that we should all strive for.
  

  favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
  favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
  of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
  free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.

  Grow a spine would you. You wonder why you’re losing the people because you haven’t the fortitude to stand up for your own beliefs. Democrats have been kowtowing to the Republicans and afraid to set the record straight — as loudly, as repetitively, and as firmly as the Republican spread their own wacky version of the truth. It’s hard to have people know what’s going on when only the other side is doing the talking — telling the same untruths over and over and over.

• Is the attention span of the average American really that short? Don’t they remember that what the Republicans say about being all for keeping government out of the lives of the people really means do exactly what we say and everything will be fine. It hasn’t been in the past and I doubt very much it will be in the future?
• I find it difficult to believe that the people who lost their own Congressional bank because they didn’t remember to keep their own finances balanced are the same people who are in charge of the country’s finances. I’m surprised with the rules they’ve been making that the banking crisis isn’t worse than it was. I still don’t see any understanding that loosening the rules on banks was not a good thing and that the laws that were in place to protect us from this type of crisis should be re instituted.

While I’m ranting. I want my country back. I want the America I grew up in. The one were people had individual freedoms and protections guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The one where people were not disappeared off the streets and thrown into prison and tortured for unspecified crimes without trial or due process. I read the paper now and remember back during the cold war when Americans were so proud of their freedoms — now we live in a country very similar to the old Soviet Union — where people have to show papers (coming with the “Real ID Act” ), where people disappeared just as we’re now doing to anyone who is even hinted at being a terrorist. In the America I grew up in people would be horrified to find out that our government was torturing people. (Make no mistake. Calling it enhanced interrogation is just a way to weasel out of calling it what it is — torture.

I want my country back. I want to be proud of being an American again but all I see is Congress slowly bit by bit turning this country into a police state where everyone is afraid all the time.

There, that’s out of my system for a while. Maybe I should just give up reading the news — it’s so depressing to see what’s happened to our values and belief in fair play.

Today, I went to pick up my prescriptions. I’m on some maintenance medications because asthma and other things. So, I get there and find out my insurance decided to not pay for one of the inhalers. The same inhaler medication I’ve been on for almost two years. The cost with the drug coverage — $165.00 per month.

Needless to say, I didn’t pick it up. If you’ve read my open letter to congress about medical coverage, you know that my out of pocket with the, in point of fact, very good medical health insurance that I have is around 10-14K per year as it is. I can’t deal with the insurance company anymore — I get ticked off and cry so Hyperion will give them a call tomorrow and try to find out what the deal is this time. Meanwhile, I’ll have to set up an appointment with the asthma/allergy doc and see if I can be moved to something the insurance company might just, maybe help pay for (normally, I paid a $50 copay for this inhaler).

Oh, the other surprise was that all the medications that were 3rd tier just went up to $60/month. Oh, joy. Guess, I’m a shoe in for the medical tax deduction now.

Is the insurance company making medical decisions by refusing to pay for their share of my Rx? According to them, “No!”. In a near quote what they told me the last time they did this is that they are not making medical decisions because they’re not stopping me from having the medication I need, I just have to pay full price. No one is stopping me from paying for it.

Well, I got news. That is making a medical decision. The insurance company is more concerned with their profit margin than in the people they cover. And THAT, is the reason that we need a public option. Health care should not be entrusted to a for-profit company.

The sad part for the people in this country is that Congress is more interested in getting big bucks for their campaign coffers than serving the people who elected them. The current health care bill is now a useless piece of legislation that is a great windfall for insurance companies at the expense of Americans who are without health insurance. As if stands now, the new health care bill gives corporations everything they’ve asked for and the American people nothing– no public option, no expansion of Medicare, and no coverage of pre-existing conditions. It also mandates that people buy insurance which will not cover their pre-existing conditions with a fine if they don’t get insurance. So, thank you Congress for requiring people buy insurance that won’t cover any of the medical problems that they have and then punish them if they don’t buy this useless insurance in order to afford what health care they can with what little money they have on the health problems they do have.

I’m upset from my experience today. Yes, I am. But I’m even more upset knowing that other people are having an even rougher time that I do. I have health insurance and I still have problems getting medications and care. Nothing that Congress is doing is going to make it any easier for me and it certainly isn’t going help Americans who currently don’t have health insurance or who can barely afford the coverage that they have.

This is going to be a political and social rant, so those not interested can move along.

Okay, at first the Medical Bill submitted to Congress was not great, but it was a start. Over the months of discussion in the House and Senate, our Congress critters have managed to strip the bill of any utility to the people of this country who were looking to them to help them get medical care. I’ve heard that some members of Congress think that the falling approval of the bill is because it’s taking so long. NOT. The falling approval of the bill among the populace is because Congress has managed to remove everything in it that we wanted.

As it stands now the Senate bill is missing the Public Option, the extension of  Medicare (include 55 and over), the coverage of prior conditions clause, and has added yearly caps on spending. So, now there’s a totally useless bill that gives the insurance companies everything they wanted while giving the people without insurance nothing. Not only that, but health insurance is now mandatory and there’s a penalty for not having it. So, you force people who can’t afford insurance in the first place to get insurance that doesn’t cover anything and then penalize them when they can’t afford to buy it. Great work guys and gals.

And while I’m ranting. What’s with trying to slip the no funds for abortions into this bill. In case you’re not aware of it, abortion IS legal in this country and has been for a while. Suck it up folks. You know you can’t get it made illegal because the American people overwhelmingly want it legal. Trying to  stop it through the back door because you’re afraid of right wingnuts is no excuse to make medical decisions for people other than yourself. Abortion is not something a person does because they have a spare couple of  hours in the day — it is a very serious decision made between a woman and her doctor. Sorry to have to be the one to let you know that Congress is not part of that equation and shouldn’t be either. It seems that getting government off our backs and allowing us choice only applies when we do what you want.

I’ve got a good health care plan. It’s through my husband’s work (I’m self-employed, a freelancer). I’m also a cancer survivor, who also has asthma, allergies, migraines,  fibromyalgia, and arthritis. If we were to lose our current health care plan and had a lapse in coverage (even for one day), none of those things would covered. So, the very problems I have would be ones that I couldn’t afford to have taken care of. We currently pay about $10,000 per year out-of-pocket. That’s just the “medical” stuff that is allowed on our tax form. It’s probably closer to 13,000 if I added in the non-allowable but nevertheless medical costs. Remember that I’m not that ill — not really. I work. I function. I just can’t do a 9-5 M-F work schedule.

On many online forums that I belong to, we’ve been talking some about the health care bill. At first I wanted it passed. It wasn’t perfect but it was a good start and would help a lot of people. Now, I hope it doesn’t pass, or at least not in the current stripped down useless version as it exists now. Now it gives no coverage, and punishes people who don’t pay buy it anyway. Not only that but all the insurance cost are going to skyrocket. What makes me think the insurance rates will go up? The insurance companies said so. Unlike members of Congress, I do read and comprehend what I read. So, we have a useless bill that hurts people, doesn’t do the job, and punishes those who can’t afford this extra cost.

Remember what I said about my yearly out of pocket? We’re lucky. With careful budgeting, we can manage. But imagine those out of pocket expenses on a minimum wage job when you have kids. You can’t. But with the penalties for not getting insured, you be between a rock and a hard place.

So, I’ve come up with a way to see that Congress passes a decent bill that would cover everyone including no pre-existing conditions, a public option, and no caps. Whatever bill Congress passes, their current medical insurance for Congressional Members will be canceled — thus lapsing their coverage (no Cobra guys and gals). And, here’s the clever bit, members of Congress must now get health insurance under the rules and regulations of the bill they just passed. So, guess trying to get health care when it won’t cover your existing health problems will be a bit of an incentive to think about what it’s like for the average American family. Maybe if Congress had to live under the laws they pass, they’d spend a little bit more time thinking about the ramifications of their changes and less about how it effects the corporations who put money in their campaigns.

The older I get and the more I read about our government leaders and watch them in action, the more I believe I’m watching a remake of recess in any playground in America where all the children have been replaced with adults. I’m also reminded that Congress lost their bank because they couldn’t pay their bills, balance their personal checking, or remember to spend less than they had. These same people make the laws for this country — something is wrong with this picture and the mess that has been made of the health care bill doesn’t change my opinion.

America needs leaders. We need people who are dedicated to seeing that our founding documents are respected and followed. That laws are made to make life better for the people of this country. Americans work hard. They give their best and some give their lives to see that this country remains strong, free, and economically viable. The citizens of this country should not be sold out because it just might make a company happy and give them a better bottom line so they give more to help get “me” re-elected. The people of this country deserve better than that.

Besides, whatever made anyone ever think that a for-profit insurance company was the right way to provide health care?  Some ideas are just bad and perpetuating them is just plain wrong.

For once do the right thing. Put the things that the people need back into the health care bill. Stop the childish power plays and vote to give American’s the health care bill they need. And for heaven’s sakes stop the bickering, back-biting, and just plain dirty fighting.

That’s it for now. I could rant for hours but I think in my meandering way, I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with the childish behavior of our government leaders in the face of real problems that need real solutions.

Creator: Russell T Davies
Actors: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Peter Capaldi, Paul Copley
Directors: Euros Lynn
Summary: In this new series, re-join Captain Jack, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones, who are still coming to terms with the death of two of their closest friends, Tosh and Owen. This time the Torchwood team are faced with their fiercest threat to date – one which throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiraling into danger. They battle against the odds but do they stand a chance of saving mankind?

I’d already posted here earlier about how dark and emotional the first three episodes of this season where. Now I’ve seen the full season. Usually a season is more than six episodes but at the point this season was done they thought it might be the last. The entire season is one story so there’s continuity between the episodes.

In 1965, aliens contacted Britain and demanded 12 children. The government gave them the children and the aliens went away. They were supposed to never come back. But, now it’s present time and the aliens have returned, heralding their return by speaking with the voice of all the children of the world. This time they want 10% of the world’s children or they will destroy the human race.

What makes this season so powerful is that it’s so believable. Putting myself in the mindset of the show, we gave in before why not do it again. Isn’t 10% of the children of Earth a small price to pay to keep the rest of the species alive? If you do give them 10% shouldn’t they come from the worst schools, the dregs, the projects, the children who’ll only grow up to be trouble makers anyway? How do you decide? And, of course the children of all the politicians would be exempt; after all their children will be good citizens.

Does the good of the many out weigh the good of the few? Shouldn’t we give up those 10% so that the rest can live? What if they were your children? Would that make a difference? If it does make a difference when it is your child then can we really justify taking away the children of other parents?

This season is dark and it asks many ethical questions? You see the politicians making the plans and already putting a spin to make it look like a good thing? Reduce the worlds population. That can only be a good thing right? Get rid of the dregs — that’s got to help everyone?

This review is mostly questions because as I sat and watched the final episodes, that’s what I was left with. Questions and the belief that if there were aliens and if our government was faced with such a threat — could I trust them? Based on what I’ve seen of the world’s various governments and justice systems over the last twenty years or so — no, I can’t trust them. Not when ethics are involved. If such a scenario was to occur could the remaining citizens of planet Earth live with themselves, with what they did, no matter what choice they made.

Of course, the kicker which we and the viewers and the government officials know is what they want the children for. Even knowing that the aliens will be back again and again for their 10%, they are still willing to take the deal. Luckily Torchwood, now down to only three members is still around trying to fight. But even for them the cost of winning may just be too high — or at least too high to live with. Just how much guilt can a person take and continue to function?

Filled with action and suspense and some moments of sheer frustration and fury — this one will wring tears, anger, frustration, and hopefully some soul searching out of its viewers. This is amazing writing and acting — drama doesn’t get much better than this.

If you’ve seen this season, I’d really like to hear about your thoughts and opinions.